Adam Smith denounced the folly and presumption of interventionists, and
Friedrich Hayek denounced their pretense of knowledge. Daniel B. Klein’s new book attempts to renew Smith and Hayek and go beyond. His talk will focus on the hubris of interventionism, arguing that such arrogance hangs on maneuvers in government and “expert” quarters that pretend to make things simpler than they are. In particular, he will explain how economists flatten knowledge down to information and thereby shortchange the case for liberty. A candid understanding of knowledge makes us more virtuous and more libertarian.